Automatic multiple valve unit



y 3, 1934- w. s. WATKINS 5 AUTOMATIC MULTIPLE VALVE UNIT Filed Jan. 15.1932 E| IIIIi-=E I I O o O RE TOR CYLINDER No.2.

a 15 8 ,x0 i 3 1 r gwuentoc WaZicr G. Waflrins,

1 max/7 M Patented May 8, 1934 UNITED STATES AUTUMATIC MULTIPLE VALVEUNIT Walter G. Watkins, Kansas City, Mo., assignor to Skelly OilCompany, El Dorado, Kans.

Application January 15, 1932, Serial No. 586,850

1 Claim.

My invention consists in new and useful improvements in a multiple valveassembly and has for its object to provide a device of this characterwhich is automatic in operation and is particularly adapted for use inconnection with liquefied petroleum gas installations.

In liquefied petroleum gas installations where cylinders of gas areinstalled as a source of fuel for cooking, heating and the like,considerable l0 difficulty has been encountered in shifting the fuelline from an empty cylinder to a fresh cylinder. Where a single cylinderis employed it is necessary to shut down the entire system whileinstalling a fresh cylinder, which naturally involves considerableinconvenience to the consumer. On the other hand where a double cylinderinstallation is employed, that is a system wherein the regulator isprovided with a twovalve inlet to accommodate two separate cylinders,whereby one cylinder may be in use while a fresh cylinder is beingconnected to the opposite valve, another objection prevails, when thevalve employed is of the type or types heretofore known.

With this last mentioned double valve installation, should the freshcylinder be turned on after the opposite cylinder has become exhaustedand the consumer or operator fail to close the valve controlling thespent cylinder, the spent cylinder would fill with vapor from the freshcylinder until the pressure were equalized in the two cylinders, thuscausing a loss in the capacity of the fresh tank of high pressure gaswhich otherwise would have been fed into the fuel system. Of course theliquid fuel would not pass from one tank to the other, but the vapor inthe container under whatever pressure there might be, may range as highas 200 pounds which would result in the loss of a considerable volume ofgas to the consumer.

It is the primary object of this invention to overcome the abovedisadvantages in devices heretofore used, and to this end I haveprovided an automatic two-valve assembly wherein the valves are soarranged as to normally close both inlet ports. The operation of thevalves is brought about by the pressure of the vapor in the respectivecylinders, the valves opening in opposite directions toward one another,whereby when the vapor in one cylinder is spent and the pressure in saidcylinder thereby exhausted, the turning on of a fresh cylinder causesthe opening of the fresh cylinder valve and the simultaneous closing ofthe spent cylinder valve, thereby preventing the vapor pressure from thefresh cylinder from entering the spent cylinder.

A further object of my invention is to provide a double valve assemblyemploying a minimum number of working parts and connections and thusreducing the potential possibilities for leaks ;and failure to function.

With the above and other objects in view which will appear as thedescription proceeds, my invention consists in the novel features hereinset forth, illustrated in the accompanying drawing, and moreparticularly pointed out in the appended claims.

Referring to the drawing in which numerals of like character designatesimilar parts throughout the several views,

Fig. 1 is a view in side elevation showing two cylinders installed withmy improved double valve assembly and regulator in place.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view showing the assembly of the variousparts of the Valve unit.

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2, and

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of one of the individual valve members.

In the drawing, 1 represents the automatic valve housing or main bodyportion which is preferably in the form of a T, having oppositelydisposed and internally threaded open ends 2 and 3 at the extremities ofits horizontal portion. These open ends 2 and 3 are placed incommunication with one another by a reduced annular valve chamber 4, thecentral portion of which is intersected by a vertically extendingconduit 5, the latter opening into an internally threaded dischargeoutlet 6 at the lower extremity of the vertical arm 7 of the T.

Within the valve chamber i I provide two oppositely disposed valvemembers 8 and 9, the adjacent inner ends 8 and 9' of which are reducedto form spring engaging lugs. These inner ends of the valve members arespaced apart a predetermined distance and are normally forced inopposite directions by an intermediate coil spring or the like 10, theopposite extremities of which encircle and engage the reduced ends 8'and 9' of the respective valve members.

11 and 12 represent cylinder couplings, the inner ends of which arereduced and threaded to engage the complementary threads in the openends 2 and 3 respectively of the body 1. These couplings are providedwith longitudinal openings l3 and 14, the walls of which graduallyconverge and merge in reduced inlet ports, the inner extremities of thecouplings terminating in annular valve seats 15 and 16 adjacent theinlet ports.

The opposite outer extremities of the valve members 8 and 9 arepreferably recessed and provided with in-set valve discs 17 of suitablematerial whereby when the valve members are forced into contact with theseats 15 and 16, the ports 13 and 14 are effectively sealed.

As shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the valve members are cylindrical in shapeand are preferably provided with radially extending wings or fins 18which serve as guides for the valve members, and when installed in thevalve chamber 4, provide for a space between the walls of the chamber 4and the periphery of the valve member to permit the flow of gas past thevalves when the latter are opened.

Referring to Fig. l of the drawing it will be seen that cylinder Nos. 1and 2 are provided with conventional cylinder valves 19 and 2G by meansof which the respective cylinders are connected to the couplings 11 and12 through the medium of suitable tubes or conduits 21 and 22, thevertical leg 7 of the main valve body 1 being connected to the inletside of a conventional gas pressure regulator. The gas regulator is inturn connected at its discharge side to the gas system 23 leading to thepoint of utilization.

Having thus described. the construction and assembly of my improvedautomatic multiple valve, its use and operation are as follows:-

At the outset, the two cylinders Nos. 1 and 2 are installed ashereinbefore set forth. We will assume that cylinder No. l is to be putinto service first and the valve 19 is open, the valve 20 of cylinderNo. 2 being closed. The high pressure gas from cylinder No. 1 passesthrough the tube 21, and the port 13 in coupling 11 and forces the valvemember 8 inwardly against the opposing pressure of spring 10. Theunseating of the valve 8 permits the gas to flow through the spacesurrounding the valve member from whence it passes through the verticalport 5 and enters the regulator and in turn is conducted to the gassystem 23. The pressure of the gas in the chamber 4, assisted by theinitial action of the spring 10 retains the opposite valve 9 in closedposition and tightly seals the port 14, thus relieving the connectionsbetween the open end 3 and the cylinder valve 20 from any pressure andreducing the possibly of leaks at these points.

Now we will assume that the gas in cylinder No. 1 has been practicallyall used and the pressure thereby reduced. Regardless of whether or notthe valve 19 is closed, prior to the opening of valve 21': on the freshcylinder, when pressure is admitted from cylinder No. 2, the valvemember 9 is automatically opened and valve member 8 is automaticallyclosed, thus preventing the entrance of high pressure vapor into thespent cylinder No. 1. Valve member 8 remains in closed position so longas the pressure continues to flow through the line from cylinder No. 2and during this time a fresh cylinder is installed to replace the spentcylinder No. 1.

One of the many advantages of my improved automatic multiple valveassembly is particularly apparent in cold weather. It is well known thatin warm weather, gas can be withdrawn from the cylinder at a faster ratethan in cold weather and, at around 40 below 0, an installationemploying a single cylinder of gas would become practically inoperativedue to the fact that the atmosphere cannot supply suificient heat to thecylinder to provide the latent heat of vaporization of the liquid fuel,in which event refrigeration and a shut-oil in the gas supply results.With a standard two-cylinder installation, where the consumer is feedinggas from only one of the cylinders under cold weather conditions, saidcylinder might easily become refrigerated and it appear that the gassupply from this cylinder had become exhausted. He would then shut offthis cylinder and turn on the fresh cylinder which would have sufiicientpressure for temporary use at least, before it also became refrigerated.Now if sumcient time had elapsed, the first cylinder would have againbuilt up pressure suihcient to be placed in use and thus the consumerwould be required to intermittently turn the two cylinders on and off asone or the other becomes inoperative.

With my improved automatic valve assembly, it will be noted that in coldweather and in installations having a heavy gas load, a consumer isenabled to leave both cylinders turned on so that gas may be fedintermittently and automatically from one or the other cylinderirrespective of the effect of refrigeration. In other words, in theevent both cylinders are left turned on, the gas will be fed from thecylinder having the highest pressure, the other cylinder automaticallybeing shut off, and as one cylinder becomes refrigerated with theresultant shut-off of pressure, the other cylinder having built upsuilicient pressure to operate, will come into action without thenecessity of manually operating the valves. Meanwhile, the refrigeratedcylinder is given time to build up its pressure so that when the othercylinder becomes refrigerated and shuts off the gas supply, the firstcylinder comes into action automatically.

It is obvious that while I have shown and desc ced a valve assemblycomprising two oppositely disposed inlet ports and valve members, thatmy invention contemplates a large number of ports and valves and alsothat the specific structure of the valves themselves may be variedwithin the scope of my invention.

From the foregoing it is believed that the con struction and advantagesof my invention may be readily understood by those skilled in the artwithout further description, it being borne in mind that num rouschanges may be made in the details disclosed without departing from thespirit of the invention as set forth in the following claim.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:-

An automatic valve comprising a substantially cylindrical body portion,a cylindrical passageway extending longitudinally through said bodyportion, the opposite extremities of said passageway being enlarged andinternally threaded to receive inlet couplings, threaded inlet couplingsin said enlarged portions, said inlet couplings being provided. withlongitudinal openings, the walls of which gradually converge intoreduced inlet ports, the inner extremities of said couplings ter- 130minating in annular valve seats which project into said longitudinalpassageway, oppositely disposed cylindrical valves provided with guidefins for engaging the inner walls of said passageway to retain theperipheries of said valves and the 135 walls of said passageway inspaced relation, spring means interposed between the adjacent inner endsof said valves for normally retaining the latter in enga ment with therespective seats, said valves is individually and independently oper-14:3 able by the ssure of the fluid entering the respective fluidopenings, the seat engaging faces of said valves being provided withinset valve discs, and an outlet port in said body leading from anintermediate portion of said passageway.

WALTER G. WATKINS.

